Ashtabula County Track & Field, ACTF, is a youth running club which was founded in 2018. The program started as a non-competitive program focused exclusively on teaching the fundamentals of running to elementary school-aged children.

As the program grew, the focus naturally progressed to a more competitive program.  In 2019, approximately 130 kids participated in spring track & field . That same year, 30 kids participated in the fall cross country program. Last year, our spring track  program consisted of 3 separate club teams. The teams competed against each other and other teams in  Northwestern PA. Later in the season, we combined to compete as one team in AAU sanctioned meets. In cross-country, however, we competed as one team the entire season.

We found that competing as one team had many advantages and have chosen to compete as one team in 2020, ac cross all programs, to help build unity and provide consistency. This change will also reduce some of pressure on our volunteer coaches, which will in turn provide better quality coaching.

Our athletes have the opportunity to compete in various local, regional and national events. As such, our focus will be to prepare the kids to have the skills necessary to compete in AAU meets at the local, regional and national level.

Furthermore, we will be encouraging middle school and high school athletes to join us once their season has concluded and to participate in these events as well.

Another goal of the program is to increase the positive impact we have a team on our community.  Ultimately, we aim to have a positive impact on the kids, both on the track and in in life.